Loved this format. The living room/office was great for the non-show of kitchen utensils or foods portion, a nice and appropriate change of location. The actual process from start (including planning and shopping) to finish (preparing and cooking of meats and veggie cutting up scenes) was really great. This was a well-planned, well-shot, well-edited video. KUDOS on the whole concept and execution.
You are very kind. It felt disjointed because we didn't plan much for what to say but felt it was important to show people how much work really goes into planning a mega session.
@@FreezerMeals101 That’s where the editing came it. I saw logical progression and reasonable transitions that made it tell a complete narrative. The final product brought it all together.
I really do love the club! The ease of the shopping list, recipes, preparation and all being right there and printable is such a time saving part that truly makes it worth the cost when you value your time
I really enjoyed and appreciated this information. I usually go through my freezers' inventories (I have a large stand up and a large chest freezer) as well as the inventories for my pantries and make a plan for those inventories. I then take out the items I need, write the recipes on an index card and have my aides help me cook and assemble then we use my vac sealer and seal them all up. You ladies have been SUCH an inspiration for the past 5-6 months I have been watching you!
With prices so high, i put the veg sscraps in a bag and freeze to make broth. Also meat scraps, bones, left over cooking waters etc. Anything that will add flavor to my broth. When ready cook low and slow on stove top or crock pot. Drain and can for future meals. No waste!
GROUND BEEF COOKING... I saw on American Test Kitchens that they recommend adding 1 / 8th tsp of baking soda to a pound of ground beef when cooking. It prevents protein strands from uniting and make a more tender burger or chili or any recipe using ground beef. They did not recommend more then 1/8th tsp as it may change the flavor. I have used this tip for the past year and I found it to be helpful.
Sadly, we can't do shop with me footage inside the store here. And while we're curious about the cost per meal or serving a) we're Canadian, so I'm not sure how helpful that will be as most of our viewers are in the States and b) some of our groceries were purchased during caselot sales earlier in the year so it would be tough to calculate. You're better off to look at our past videos for our frugal freezer meals where we calculate them out. I mean they are intended to be at a lesser cost but you get the picture. We have salmon in our mega session so they are more expensive, but we also got a wicked deal on the chicken drumsticks! Anyway, that's a lot to say I'll link our frugal meals video here: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-Ofcaym3BCeE.html and ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-Emz3d5sP3mg.html I hope that helps! Thanks for watching and we'll see you at our mega session!
Christie here: It's attainable for everyone! Maybe not 30 recipes at a time because the upfront cost can be pricey, but Freezer Meals have changed out lives for the better and it's important for us to teach people how to do it. Some people learn by reading, and some people need to see it! I learn best that way and we're grateful for a platform like RU-vid for all the visual learners out there! Don't worry - Sharla will see your note about her handwriting. She DOES have neat handwriting! I'm more of a scribbler. haha
I could never imagine doing this many at once. I did eleven today and I'm just exhausted! I know part of the reason is chronic pain and auto immune disease, but still! Today we did chicken pot pie, apricot chicken ( but with peaches), sweet and sour chicken and chicken curry. We also add a lot of extra veggies, but part of that is because some days I don't have the energy to do a side.
Yes it's a lot however eleven is great! And on days that your pain is really flaring up, you'll appreciate those meals in an extra sort of way. We are convinced that freezer meals are for everyone! Adding extra veggies is a great way to get them in when you skip the side. We do it too.
@@FreezerMeals101 We add slightly less meat and a lot of extra veg also because meat is super expensive here, but we can get veggies really cheap if we buy from places that sell rejects/seconds. You are absolutely right, though, some days I can barely move, and those slow cooker freezer meals are a lifesaver! My son and dil are fine when it comes to following a few steps so they are quite happy to cook the pasta or rice. I did one of the chicken pot pies yesterday, my son goes through phases where he finds eating difficult, and one of the things he finds easiest to eat is chicken pot pie.
A couple of tricks to reduce tears when cutting onions - light a small tea light candle nearby, or place the onion on a wet paper towel on your cutting board. Both methods are supposed to absorb the oils that cause people to tear up. Great video! I always wondered what your prep looked like.
Christie here: I've heard of the wet paper towel method, but the spray from the cutting still flies up in the air. I don't know how helpful it would be. I usually just get through it. After the first few tears, my eyes get used to it and I can do the rest without crying. The sharper the knife, the less spray, but there is only so much you can do. When I wore contacts, it NEVER bothered me but now I've had laser eye surgery and don't have that protection! Oh well. Onions are chopped! LOL
Great video girls! Recently I’ve been stacking my freezer bags vertically in the freezer but putting them into a almond milk cardboard box that has the top cut off, the box can then be stacked vertically or horizontally. Can’t believe my lovely husband thought about this idea. So looking forward to your next video.
This club is motivating me to cook more now than ever. I love the fact of working ahead and being prepared. Question: How long and what temp are you baking your chicken at? Thank you!
I just subscribed to your freezer meals 101 and I’m loving it! I’m binge watching all your videos. Is there a link in Amazon of all your supplies? You mentioned using a “medium” freezer bag and I’m wondering if it’s a quart size
Hey! Thanks for subscribing! Yes a medium freezer bag is a quart size bag. We don't have our Amazon store set up just yet, but check back after the weekend. We use Avery 8163 Shipping Labels. Actually, what I REALLY use are the store brand Staples labels of the same size. They work just as good and are a bit cheaper.
@@FreezerMeals101 Thank You so much! I have five daughters and we are planning a big freezer prep day in the next couple of weeks. I appreciate all your hard work that you both have done for us!
Christie here: my mother always peeled mushrooms too. Maybe it's just a thing where we're from but I find it hard NOT to peel mushrooms. I've been to mushroom farms to pick up compost. I know too much. haha
It makes it much more fun and helps the time to fly by faster on assembly days for sure. I'm very thankful I found someone to do this with. I cooked this way on my own for about 10 years before I met Christie though so hopefully you'll find someone too!
May I make a suggestion when it comes to chicken! You could use chicken leg quarters that are in a bag I usually get them at Walmart. The name brand is called gold leaf or golden leaf. I can’t remember but anyways I usually get roughly about 13 leg quarters per bag and it averages out to $.67 per pound! You could cut the leg away from the thigh and have both the lake and the thigh in different meals where you could cook it as a whole and pull off all the meat and use the meat from the chicken Leg quarter and multiple recipes and casseroles! This is usually the cheapest way to get chicken and it’s still a good quality! When you’re paying $10 for a case of 6.6 pounds of chicken legs you’re paying over a dollar per pound. 3:20
Bow to the Onion Chopper! And Salute to the Food Processor! And Stand Up and Clap for the Ladies that put it all together for us! Prep Chefs don't make enough money! That is the hard part. OK now I'm thinkin' I'm going to buy one of those big outdoor Blackstone Grills for Prep Day. Just think of how handy that would be for the meats. And Breakfast Freezer Meals fast like a Short Order Cook! Put some tunes on and grab a Margarita. Starting with a planning day would be the key! It's Thanksgiving tomorrow for us here in the US. I'm thinking about Turkey Pot Pies with the leftovers. I'll be watching. Peace.
375 degrees for about 45 minutes but it does depend if it’s frozen or not first. Be sure to check it with a meat thermometer to be sure that it’s done.
Yes and no. One of the biggest parts we aim for is to get 15% off by getting groceries on the first Tuesday of the month. If you order them for pick up, they won't give you the discount. Secondly, for some reason, Sharla ends up having the worst luck with grocery pick up. She either gets the wrong things, or things are missing. She likes to know what she has for sure. If we're doing a smaller, batch, then for sure, we can do a grocery order, but when the stakes are so high, like for a mega session, we do it ourselves.
I’ve watched a few videos now (gradually working my way through, as only just come across you guys)…. I’m noticing you don’t seem to do much, if any, fish. Is there a particular reason? Tuna doesn’t count as that’s eeeasy lol
So glad you've found our channel! We actually really enjoy seafood and have a number of seafood dishes (actually our Seafood Curry is probably Christie's all-time favorite freezer meal!). Here's a video of just some of them: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-f5IzuWidIe4.html
After so many years of doing it, we've come to realize that it turns out pretty evenly, so we have stopped marking it down to the penny. Besides, being able to use the same bottle of Worcestershire sauce over several meal sessions for example, it's also hard to divide things like that. Do we buy chili sauce if Sharla already has some? No, we'll just use hers. I'm sure in the end, Sharla ends up paying more than me because we're using some of her ingredients by default of doing it at her house, so I buy things like dish soap for her and she sometimes gives me a list of things she needs from Costco because she hates going to Costco and I don't ever expect her to pay me back. It seems to work out pretty evenly in the end.
www.pizzapops.ca/ Christie here: When I googled pizza pops to show you, the first question that came up asked if Pizza Pops are available in the USA and they are ONLY available in Canada! We don't have pizza pockets here, so I think they are like that but only bigger. You could call them a hand pie. Our whole family eats them. The kids like them after school and if my husband isn't feeling very industrious, they are easy to throw in the microwave and have something warm and filling. They are made by Pillsbury, so it's funny to see how different markets have different products!
@@FreezerMeals101 It is funny how some things are found here and not there. I like making pizza pockets to freeze. You two need to do a Q & A. Thank you for answering me so quickly.
I am allergic to corn. I am questioning the membership on how I could move that ingredient. I see its in the cheese prep. Usually used for slurries. I know you have allergies that are different.. how can I make this work with easy subs?
You could use potato starch in the cheese. That's what pre-shredded cheese in the grocery store uses. If you don't want to thicken liquid with cornstarch, you can use flour. I find it a bit tougher to mix nicely so I use a shaker for smoothies to make it. You will need to cook for 8-10 minutes to get the taste of the flour out. Are you in the Facebook group? Ask in there and I bet you'll get a dozen options. I hope that helps.